Bateman Advises Caution

WILLIAMSBURG — The political changes sweeping through the Eastern Bloc should not lull the United States into dropping its defenses, Rep. Herb H. Bateman, R-1st, said Friday.

"We Americans are notorious for our short memories, and already many seem to have forgotten what life was like before Gorbachev. This is a serious mistake," Bateman told members of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Despite the Soviet Union's move toward open dealings with the West under President Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership and planned reductions in weapons production and military forces, that nation remains a formidable military power, Bateman said.

Major reductions in the U.S. Naval fleet, as a response to growing democratization abroad, will be costly, the congressman predicted.

"The U.S. will be faced with a Navy less prepared to respond to crises that are certain to arise in the future," he said.

"The argument that the changes in Europe have eliminated the need for anything more than the ability to defend our borders from outright attack is a case of shortsighted thinking."

The congressman did say there will and should be a reduction in U.S. defense spending. He said he supports a scaling back of U.S. military spending when accompanied by "advantageous and verifiable arms control agreements."

Any savings from the cutback in military spending should be used to reduce the U.S. budget deficit, he said.

Bateman also told the chamber that he plans to oppose an upcoming congressional bill that requires employers to provide 10 weeks of unpaid parental leave and 15 weeks of unpaid medical leave for their workers.

"While I certainly support the pro-family philosophy which underlies this effort, the ramifications of its success lead me to oppose the bill," he said.

He said that bill will deny workers other benefits like flexible hours, compensatory time and educational assistance.

Bateman also opposes mandated employer-paid health insurance.

"As is often the case with mandated benefits, it is the small businessperson that would be severely and inordinately affected," Bateman said, indicating that small businesses are less able to absorb the cost of those programs than are larger ones.